WAYNESBORO TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE sends out a new letter

WAYNESBORO TAXPAYERS ALLIANCE

Greetings!
Well folks, the information just keeps coming in! Although a majority on City Council would have you believe that they have the best interests of ALL citizens in mind, the numbers do not support this logic.

Reassessments and the Working Class
Upon further analysis of the recent real estate assessments, it appears that the burden of the proposed tax increase will fall squarely on the shoulders of the working class people of Waynesboro.

After spending most of the day researching the recent real estate assessments on the Virginia Mass Appraisal Network www.vamanet.com , it appears that the majority of homes valued under $200,000 saw the value of their homes escalate while the homes valued over this amount saw their values decrease.

In some cases, these numbers are staggering. For instance, there are only two homes on Charlotte Avenue that saw their home values decrease. In other words, 96% of all of the homes on Charlotte Avenue saw their home values increase, with one home increasing as much as $32,000 in value with no significant upgrades to speak of. Fir Street saw every single home increase in value. Compare that to Ana Marie Boulevard, Pelham Drive, or Whetstone Drive and you will see quite a different story.

Certainly, the City Councilors who support the proposed increase of the tax rate, have done their due diligence as we have and have investigated the most recent real estate assessments. These real estate assessments have obviously been affected by the current housing market. With that in mind, how in good conscious could these Councilors support a tax increase which will clearly affect those individuals and families who are the most deeply affected by today's economic climate?

While Waynesboro is having to deal with the reality of having one of the highest unemployment rates in the Commonwealth (top 20th percentile), the citizens of Waynesboro are also having to endure a 35% increase in the water rate, a 13.7% increase in the sewer rate, a 16% increase in the garbage rate as well as increases in gas and food, not to mention, there are those who have yet to recover from the 23% tax increase from just two years ago. While the net effect of the proposed tax increase may seem minimal to some, it is yet another dollar out of the pockets of those citizens who can least afford it.

How much more of a burden does the tax increasing majority on City Council think that the hard working citizens of Waynesboro can take?



What Can I Do to Help?

We need to contact our City Councilors who currently support the raising of our taxes, especially during this time of economic uncertainty. Please contact these officials and let them know that you DO NOT support any raising of taxes at this time.

Mayor Tim Williams
(540) 942-3471
bortleje@ci.waynesboro.va.us

Councilwoman Nancy Dowdy
(540) 943-9133

dowdy@cfw.com

Councilwoman Lorie Smith

(540) 943-9835

lsmith500@comcast.net



Sincerely,
Mike Harris and Garnett WeatherholtzWaynesboro Taxpayers Alliance

Posted by Phil
at 3:17 PM
Labels: Waynesboro